History of the Energy Law Journal

The Energy Law Journal (ELJ) has a rich history directly linked to the Energy Bar Association (EBA). Originally, the EBA Publications Committee functioned as a means to assemble, duplicate, and distribute various reports submitted to them by EBA Committees.

On June 8, 1978, a Special Committee of EBA was appointed to determine the benefits of a publication to better serve the organization, in addition to judges, attorneys, consultants, and government officials. The Special Committee decided to publish a scholarly journal / law review whose function was to publish quality articles and EBA committee reports.

The first issue of the ELJ, Volume 1, was published in May of 1980. It contained 232 pages and featured five lead articles on diverse subjects, ten committee reports, and three pages of advertisements.

In 1986, the Foundation of the Energy Law Journal was established to manage the funding and the business of the ELJ. That same year, a partnership with the University of Tulsa College of Law (TU) was created to facilitate the production of the ELJ. The partnership benefits the ELJ because TU students provide significant editorial assistance on the articles. In turn, the partnership benefits TU law students by providing an opportunity to work on a law review, gain knowledge of the energy industry, and by creating a platform for the publication of TU student notes and comments.

Today, the ELJ has become a preeminent energy publication with subscriptions of approximately 3,000 and counting. The subscriptions span the globe, originating from at least fifteen different foreign countries. The ELJ has been cited repeatedly in law reviews and journals, by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, in state and federal courts, and by the U.S. Supreme Court.